Tag: Devotion

Believers are the “firstfruits of the Spirit” in that the Holy Spirit indwells all who adopted into the family of God giving them the power to overcome sin. The believer can choose to yield to temptation and thus sin against God. The groaning that the Apostle Paul speaks of is the weariness that comes with that constant struggle. Satan and the world will continue to seduce the believer to their fallen ways. Each time the believer falls, he pays a price for the consequence of sin.

Since the fall of man, sin, sorrow and death has plagued humankind with untold misery. The curse came upon all the created world. And there seemed no relief since then. The Apostle Paul acknowledges that this sad predicament for the created world is a known truth to all. Here, he emphasizes the entire creation is groaning or signing in pain together like that of a woman in labour during childbirth. It is excruciating and unbearable.

The ravages of sin plague not only humankind but also all animate and inanimate living creatures. Thorns and thistles grew from the ground and animals become carnivorous predators. This will continue until the time when Christ returns to restore order in His creation to the pre-fall Edenic state. There will be no more spiritual blindness, apostasy, crime and rebellion, debts, bankruptcies, greed or repossession of properties.

The Apostle Paul reveals to us that the creation eagerly anticipates and patiently awaits the time when Christ would return to restore it to pre-fall Edenic paradise. At that time, the children of God will rule with Christ for a one thousand years on earth (Rev. 20:1-6) and thereafter this present heaven and earth will be destroyed and God will create a new heaven and a new earth and eternity will begin. How does this coming future affect the Christian? It will teach him to seek the things that has eternal value rather the things of this world that has a temporal value and will perish with time!

When Jesus sent His disciples forth to preach the gospel. He prepared their hearts to expect persecution and inevitable suffering. They would suffer for His name’s sake. He sends them forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. There would be imminent danger. But He also promises them His take care for them. Jesus tells them that if God would take care of the sparrows, surely they are more precious than many sparrows. In fact, all the hairs on their head are numbered. And Jesus sets the example for suffering for the sake of the gospel. The Apostle Peter encouraged believers to learn from the example of their Master, Jesus Christ. He denied the Lord three times and was forgiven and restored after Jesus’ resurrection by the Lake of Galilee. He served as one who has failed the Lord before. He writes to encourage us to persevere in service despite suffering.

The Apostle Paul offers us the blessed Christian hope of a glorious future to encourage believers to persevere in their walk with God. He was brought to see the glory of heaven. This was his testimony:

2 Corinthians 12:2-4 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. 3 And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) 4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

We are adopted into the family of God by the new birth. As heirs of God, we enjoy the privilege and blessing of being God’s children. For every need that we have, we can call upon the heavenly Father for help. We have access to the heavenly Father through Christ. We have not fully experience the blessings of being heirs of God. When Israel entered the Promised Land, God instructed Joshua to allot the land according to their tribe and family as an inheritance. With the land, each family finds shelter and sustenance. Our heavenly inheritance will far exceed any earthly inheritance. Jesus tells us that He has gone ahead to prepare a heavenly mansion for us, and He would return to bring us there.

The Holy Spirit bears witness together with our spirit the immaterial part of us, to testify that we are the children of God. This affirmation in the heart comes with the understanding that our sins have all been forgiven in Christ. There is no rebuke in our conscience. All our sins have been washed clean in the blood of Jesus Christ. God’s peace and joy abides in our heart.

A true child of God is led by the Holy Spirit. A true child of God is adopted into the family of God by the Holy Spirit. He address God the Father by a term of endearment – Abba. It signifies closeness, it suggest intimacy. When a child is legally adopted by his foster parents, he receives the legal rights of inheritance and the position of being a son or a daughter to the parent.

The true child of God would not seek to grieve the Holy Spirit by yielding to sin but would allow the Holy Spirit to hold sway over his life. The test of being Spirit-led is an inner strength to say “no” to sin! This is possible because this child of God prays unceasingly – Psalm 32:6 For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him. He understands his vulnerability dare not wander from the influence of the divine Spirit. God’s blessing is upon these His children. May we seek to be Spirit-led this new day as we seek His unfailing grace to aid us! Amen.